Guides
by Novadestin
Summary: This is the tale of the Marauders Map…
1. Passage

**Guides**

**Era:** Various

**Characters:** Filch, Sirius, James, Fred, George, Remus

**Summary:**

*Written for my 'Marauders Map' challenge and mixed with Ashli's 'Marauders Map' challenge, the marauders are awesome's **'**Twins and Marauders**' **challenge, and CheleCooke's 'The Missing Scene' challenge on HPFF* _This is the tale of the Marauders Map…

* * *

_

**Part One: Passage**

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!

"Potter! Black!"

"Mischief Managed!" James said quickly and the parchment which they had been looking at went blank.

"What do you want Filch? We're not doing anything wrong," Sirius scowled as the caretaker came up to them.

"Had a complaint about you two," he said menacingly as he looked over their shoulders to see what they were doing, "gonna be keeping an eye on you."

"You're always keeping an eye on us, what's new?" James asked casually as he folded up the parchment and placed it safely in his pocket.

He went to reply but could think of nothing clever so he just stalked away. "Always that same stupid parchment…must be important…" he muttered to himself as he went.

Every time he caught them doing something wrong, every time he saw them for that matter, they always had that same old piece of parchment. He had never been able to catch them in the act of using whatever it was, but he knew it had to be something against the rules.

Three years he'd seen them fiddle with it, three years he'd never had an excuse to take it. But now, with the end of their seventh year coming up, he knew the 'marauders' would be planning something big. Hopefully, it would be something big enough for him to get his hands on that parchment.

So he waited. Two more months and they would be gone; he had already planned a small celebration of his own. Once they were gone he would never have that much trouble again. No more tricks in the halls, no more jokes in class…no more detentions. That was the one thing he would miss.

Yet, rather than dwell on the loss of being able to partake in his favorite past time; he tried to think of what the parchment could be.

"List of things to do? No…a way to talk in class? No, there's only one…I think…" he went over several options but nothing came to him. He knew the marauders were smart and that the parchment was a keystone in all their adventures, he just couldn't figure out how.

Lucky for him, he got his chance to examine the parchment only days later as the marauders set off an explosion of fireworks by the lake that shook the whole castle. It had all been to celebrate the end of their school days they had told him, but he knew better. He knew they were just trying to disrupt the end of year exams and he took great pleasure in confiscating the parchment from them.

Now it was his and he spread it out on his desk to examine it closely. Even Mrs. Norris sniffed it curiously.

"What do you think my sweet?" he asked with a stroke of her fur; she mewed her response.

He looked it over, turned it this way and that, yet after hours of searching he was left with nothing more than an old piece of parchment spread out on his desk. He had even tried a few simple spells on it but nothing had worked.

"Stupid kids, probably having a laugh right now. Think they tricked me good don't they!" he threw his wand onto his desk and started pacing. "Darn marauders… always causing mischief, always up to no good!"

Something moved on his desk and Mrs. Norris hissed her discontent. He turned to find the parchment had revealed some text across the top where his wand had landed and was slowly exposing more as he read.

"Mr. Wormtail would like to congratulate Mr. Filch on actually having some intelligence. Now if he only knew how to put it to use…"

"Mr. Prongs is surprised that Mr. Filch has yet to show any signs of being anything more than a nuisance."

"Mr. Moony acknowledges the right of Mr. Filch to punish the students for wrong doing but wonders why he has to also punish them by looking so slimy."

"Mr. Padfoot asks kindly that Mr. Filch forgo his attempts to best those smarter than himself and use the time to do something he might actually be good at. Like loving that mangy cat of his…"

The words faded, but his bitterness did not and he cursed in frustration, "think you're so funny! Think your better than everyone!"

He folded up the parchment so quickly and so forcefully that it didn't lay flat and shoved it into a drawer so he wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

And there it stayed for nearly eleven years.

He had forgotten about the parchment by then, it just collected dust like everything else he pulled off the students. It wasn't like he had any real use for any of it anyway; he just didn't want to have to deal with the mess the stuff would cause.

But there were others who didn't care about the mess. All they cared about was a good laugh.

"Hey Fred, how long do you reckon he's had some of this stuff?" asked one fiery haired boy to another as he picked up an old looking box marked 'pixie fragments.'

"Don't know George, probably since he got here I suppose. Some of this stuff sure is old…" said the other boy as he pulled open another drawer.

They had pillaged through several cabinets in Filch's office looking for random intrigue, just for fun, when they heard a familiar warning sound. Mrs. Norris was standing in the doorway growling at them angrily. She even took a few swipes at them when they leaped over her to run off.

They didn't get far however, as Filch walked around the corner as they came to it. "What's this? You boys causing trouble again?" he asked inquisitively.

"No sir, just taking a brisk walk," one of the boys said casually, hoping to justify their shortness of breath.

"Well you're coming with me anyway, just to be sure," he snickered and grabbed them both by the arm, leading them back to his office.

As he came to the open door his grip tightened, "someone's been in here."

"Really? We just figured you left the door open," one of the boys shrug.

"Think you're pretty funny don't you?" he said angrily and pulled them into his office, "I used to know a pair like you, always swearing they were up to no good… You two better behave yourselves."

"Yes sir!" they both said in unison and then silently backed out of the room while he looked over the damage.

They walked as quickly as they could back to the common room and only let themselves relax when they were inside. "That old codger's gonna be a lot of trouble," said one of the boys as he fell into an armchair.

"Yeah but he's got a lot of great stuff," commented the other as they began to empty their pockets.

"Hang on, what's that?" A crumpled old piece of parchment lay at the bottom of their pile.

"Why would Filch have a blank piece of old parchment stored with all the other stuff?" they asked themselves as they looked it over, curiosity filling them as they imagined what it could be.

Black ink erupted under their finger tips and collected in the middle to form the words:

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs wondered the same thing for ages. But they reckon it was to hear a new generation say…

_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!_


	2. Discovery

**Guides**

**Era:** Various

**Characters:** Filch, Sirius, James, Fred, George, Remus

**Summary:**

*Written for my 'Marauders Map' challenge and mixed with Ashli's 'Marauders Map' challenge, the marauders are awesome's **'**Twins and Marauders**' **challenge, and CheleCooke's 'The Missing Scene' challenge on HPFF* _This is the tale of the Marauders Map…

* * *

_

**Part Two: Discovery**

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

"It isn't right," Hermione scowled. "He is an excellent teacher."

"We know that Hermione, but he's right you know? I bet loads of people are writing letters home right now," Ron said and scuffed the floor of the common room with his shoe. The last few hours hadn't been particularly happy ones for them what with the Slytherins doing a splendid job at spreading the word of Professor Lupin's 'ailment.'

Harry, who sat across from them, didn't say anything. He hadn't said more than simple phrase since Professor Lupin told him he would be resigning several hours previous. All his mind could focus on was the fact that it wasn't right, and while he knew many people who felt the same, it angered him when they said there was nothing that could be done.

"Why so down?" came Fred, or perhaps George, as the two plopped down in chairs next to the three very grumpy looking third years.

"Haven't run into any Slytherins yet I take it," Harry said. His voice surprised Hermione and Ron, both of whom had begun to except him to be mute to whatever they said.

"Sure we have. Remember Montague's reaction Fred?" George joked and high-fived his twin brother.

"It will most certainly become a classic George," Fred replied happily. "So what does our running into Slytherins got to do with you three being grouchy?"

"Professor Lupin is resigning because of their big mouths is what," Ron grumbled and crossed his arms. Why were his brothers acting so nonchalant about all this? While he was certain they had heard by now; his brothers knew every dirty detail about the school, from the secret passages into Hogsmeade to the 'supposed to be' secret meetings of Madam Pince and Argus Filch; he thought for sure that this would be something to flabbergast them.

"Oh yeah, that werewolf stuff is it? Don't see what the big deal is myself," Fred shrugged as if the news that his teacher was a werewolf wasn't a big deal in the least. "What about you George?"

"Can you imagine, everything we know? Well the teachers would be resigning left and right wouldn't they?" George joked and Fred grinned his response. "But what's it matter? He's on our side, good enough for me."

"Why are you two acting so carefree about this? Did you somehow figure it out before today?" Hermione asked, wondering if, like her, they had somehow figured out his condition before it became public news.

"Didn't have to figure out anything really," George said with an impish grin that cause Ron, Harry, and Hermione to glance at each other nervously over what he would say next. "We got it straight from the source."

"He told you?" the three cried, dumbfounded at what they were hearing. The Remus Lupin they knew would never do such a thing.

"In a way, sort of vicariously," Fred said with a pat on his twin's shoulder. "The rest we just pieces together ourselves."

"Wasn't that hard either, what with that talk we had at the beginning of the year and the map of course," George said as he straightened up a bit in his set to get comfortable. The three younger kids were looking at him utterly confused, "what? Don't look at me like I'm daft. If you haven't noticed, that map's got a mind of its own."

"Four to be exact," Fred stated, correcting his brother. "And one of those minds just happens to belong to our Professor Lupin. I felt right proud of him after that talk, you remember George?"

"Right proud," George repeated and both twins laughed, remembering exactly what had happened at the beginning of the year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione remained speechless at Fred and George's astounding ability to figure out what they weren't supposed to know.

Their Defense Against the Dark Arts class had just finished and the other kids were hurrying to get out of the room as Professor Lupin called after them. "Fred, George, may I speak with you a moment?"

"What's up professor?" George asked as the twins looked at each other curiously when they reached his desk.

"I wanted to ask you about your essays on animagus." Professor Lupin held up their individual essays, both had a large 'O' on them.

"What's the matter professor? You gave us an outstanding grade," Fred asked rather confused.

"The problem, boys, is the depth at which you described becoming an animagus." Professor Lupin narrowed his eyes just enough to make the twins fidget.

"Well professor," George looked to Fred and they seemed to come to a silent agreement on how to proceed, "we did have a little help in that department."

"And where exactly did such detailed information come from? Certainly not from the library or any legal method of research," Professor Lupin set the papers down and crossed his arms in a disapproving manner. He was trying to appear as if he was upset with them, to appear the way a teacher should when a student includes rather scandalous information in their homework.

The truth, however, was that he was not in the least upset, but rather highly curious where they had gotten the information from. It reminded him of how James, Sirius, and Peter had gotten a hold of the information during his second year. Yet back then it had been a lot easier.

"Well we got the help from Mr. Prongs and Mr. Padfoot," Fred stated, trying to sound as if these people were reliable sources and that Professor Lupin shouldn't worry.

Conversely, he just stared at them, utterly gripped with disbelief. How could he possible respond to that? How could these two boys be talking to people from his childhood, one dead and one imprisoned in Azkaban for the others murder? Fred and George glanced at each other hesitantly, both wondering why those names had struck their professor dumb.

"I suppose Mr. Moony and Mr. Wormtail also assisted," Professor Lupin finally asked, his voice was a mixture of smug amusement and bewildered hysteria.

"Uh," the twins stammered, astonished that their professor actually knew the names they had mentioned, not only knew them but also the other two as well.

"No, actually, Mr. Wormtail and Mr. Moony didn't want to help. Said it would only get us into trouble," Fred said with a tentative laugh.

"Guess they were right," George said with a shrug to his twin. Yet as much as he had respect for the caution Mr. Wormtail and Mr. Moony had offered, he was glad that they hadn't listened. Not listening had given them the opportunity to discover that their own teacher knew about their heroes. Perhaps he could tell them more about the messrs they owed so much too.

"They were," Professor Lupin sighed, finally coming to understand how Harry had gotten hold of the map that he and his comrades had made in their sixth year. These next generation marauders must have taken it out of Filch's office somehow and given it to him. Yet he still did not understand how they had figured out how to work it. "However, that trouble luckily ends with me."

"Professor, can I ask, how is it you know who we're talking about?" George asked and they both leaned in curiously.

Professor Lupin smiled pleasantly, "having spoken with Mr. Moony, I believe you have all the information you need."


End file.
